"The Divergent Series: Allegiant" brings us a step closer to the end of the film adaptations of the popular YA novels by Veronica Roth. And for critics, it can't come soon enough.

The franchise headed by Shailene Woodley set in a dystopian future is crawling to the finish line with nowhere near the popularity, among critics or audiences, of Lionsgate's other YA franchise, "The Hunger Games."

In "Allegiant," Tris (Woodley) goes beyond the giant wall encircling Chicago to see what's out there.

With only an 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing and hitting a franchise low for Thursday box office (weekend projections has it making around $30 million), "Allegiant" is already a certified dud. Few seem interested in going over the wall with Tris.

The franchise's storytelling has gone out the window.

Lionsgate

"A story that kicked off two years ago at a reasonable gallop has now slowed to barely a limp," notes the New York Times in its review, which sums up the franchise's unoriginal storytelling.

Time Out London pinpointed the problem by writing, "As internal logic goes out of the window and the plot contrivances pile up (‘I’ve got a machine that can see through walls!’ or ‘I know how to fly a plane without ever having seen one before!’), the film becomes increasingly trying."

Variety believes that "asking audiences to turn off their brains basically reduces 'The Divergent Series' to just another sci-fi action franchise — and not a very good one at that."

Why it can’t hold a candle to "Hunger Games."

Murray Close/Lionsgate

Turns out Lionsgate is 1 for 2 in sci-fi YA franchises. While "Hunger Games" had an impressive run, and will likely continue with spin-offs, the "Divergent" series hasn't had the same luck. The critics have a few reasons why:

"Unlike the Panem of 'The Hunger Games' saga, which takes real historical tyrannies as an inspiration, there's no getting around the fact that 'Divergent' is a clunky apparatus built around a trendy 'Chosen One' type," NPR writes.

"'Games' created complex characters with psychological depth and emotional heft, and put them at risk while tackling bleak futuristic narrative themes," says the San Jose Mercury News. "'Divergent,' on the other hand, gets snarled up in the threads of an overly complicated vision, stranding its rather one-note characters in the process."

Miles Teller's talent is wasted.

Murray Close/Lionsgate

It's been a knock on the franchise from the beginning: Miles Teller's talents are just not being used to their potential.

"These movies really enjoy denying their characters forward momentum," according to the A.V. Club, which points out Teller specifically. "For the third movie in a row, his character Peter tags along with the heroes before turning duplicitous and selfish."

And according to the Chicago Tribune: "The only wild card remains Miles Teller, stuck in supporting-underminer duty but extracting a laugh or two simply by turning his boredom with the material into sly commentary conducted in the margins."

Wait, there's another movie coming in the franchise?

Dan McFadden/Lionsgate

Yes, taking a page from "Hunger Games" and "Twilight," the producers are splitting the final chapter of the franchise into two parts. It truly ends in 2017 with the film "Ascendant."

But for Rolling Stone, they could have just stopped at "Allegiant," or that's how it seems from how the magazine started its review: "If you're not mad as hell, so mad that you're not gonna take it anymore, then you damn well ought to be."

But then there were critics who didn't even realize there would be another movie.

"As I walked out of 'Allegiant,' I was confused," wrote ComingSoon.net. "This movie ended as if there was going to be a fourth movie, yet at the time I didn’t know about 'Ascendant.' I only knew there were three books. Were they splitting the last book in two? Was there even going to be a fourth movie? Even the screening reps didn’t seem to know for sure."